Detroit Tigers baseball and general merrymaking straight from PhilCoke'sBrain

Tigers Twitter Top 50

December 28, 2012

Today I read a post at Baseball America ranking the top 50 accounts on Twitter. I instantly thought two things: First, what a pathetic, cliched format for a blog post. Second, I have to do this for Tigers Twitter accounts right away.
As you may know, I issue regular Tigers twitter rankings organized by follower count. This winter I am going to mix it up and go simply by my ranking. You can take a look back at the Summer 2012 rankings and look forward to the Spring 2013 rankings next year.

@beckjason – Jason Beck, Tigers.com. Sure, Jason has somewhat mythical status here at Brain Matters, but don’t let the hyperboledistractyou from the outstanding content that Beck provides. His gameday updates are timely, his blog content shows wonderful insight, and he is the reigning king of spotting obscure jerseys at Comerica.

@Chris_Iott – Chris Iott, Mlive.com. Chris provides all the facts but adds his own subtly cutting sense of humor. After years of dealing with a particular brand of comment on MLive can you you begrudge the guy a scoop of snark? Readers also have to give Chris love for pure quantity. I forget the exact number, but in 2011 after the Tigers clinched the division in Oakland Iott had 7-8 articles posted before he left the ballpark (and probably smelled like crap)

@BBritten_Tigers – Brian Britten, Director of Media Relations, Detroit Tigers. – If you are looking for the lineup or other official transaction news this is the spot. The @Tigers account often simply retweets or parrots what Brian sends out. So if you want the most timely info, this is the place.

@Lynn_Henning – Lynn Henning, Detroit News. BUT BRAIN, you might say, YOU SQUABBLE WITH THIS GUY LIKE EVERY DAY! HOW CAN YOU PUT HIM SO HIGH?! Relax my capslock abusing friend. Sure, I think Lynn is often wrong, but the object of a columnist isn’t always to be correctit is (within bounds) to be entertaining and frankly I find the guy entertaining. How does he do it? He finds a gimmick and sticks to it. Now if we can only teach him how to retweet properly…

@suss2hyphens – Matt Sussman, Blessyouboys.com and sbnbaseball.com. For quality and quantity of one-liners during games, it is almost impossible to top Sussman. If you can hold up under the weight of Bowling Green and curling tweets until spring training you will be well rewarded

@Stareagle – Dave Hogg, FoxSportsDetroit.com. The beard must give him his powers. Always great content with a personal slant. Also a terrific mechanical bull rider.

@mario_impemba – Fox Sports Detroit Play-by-play broadcaster. Mario brings the same solid, measured insight to the game on Twitter as he does in broadcasts. Always a class act and very informative. Unfortunately you can’t replicate giggles on twitter.

@matthewbmowery – Matthew B. Mowery, The Oakland Press. Matthew has a great sense of humor and uses it to provide terrific Tigers content. Mowery flies under the radar way more than he should, give him a follow.

@spacemnkymafia – Grey Papke, Walkoffwoodward.com. As of press time, Grey has tweeted 135,374 times, but don’t let that scare you too much. When it comes to providing instantaneous reaction to everything that is happening in the game, Grey is your man. Grey will also walk you trough the west coast games as he is bionic and needs no sleep.

@toriihunter48 – Torii Hunter, Tigers Rightfielder. While it is early, it appears as though Torii will be the most prolific of tweeting Tigers players. Be prepared for a healthy dose of canned athlete philosophy, but I anticipate interesting photos and candid post game feedback.

@blessyouboys – Blessyouboys.com. Blessyouboys is the premier Tigers blog on the net. While I’m not thrilled with their new site design, their editors and contributors are as good as ever. The work of Kurt Mensching deserves special recognition.

@RodAllen12 – Fox Sports Detroit, Color commentator. There is a small but vocal group online that does not care for Mr. Allen’s stylings. I wholeheartedly disagree with this group. Sure, some of the hardcore Tigers followers have heard his “go to” descriptions more than once, but these guys fill 3 hours 150+ times in a year. Try to discuss anything for that long and not repeat yourself. Rod is also the designated sunshine man. Concerned about the team? tead Rod’s tweets.

@TigsTown – Paul Wezner, TigsTown.com. While I’ve singled out Paul, this is a recognition of him and all his associates at TigsTown. This account would be ranked higher but much of the content is behind a pay wall. Not that I’m opposed to a pay wall, it is just that linking and discussing their articles with the general public becomes more cumbersome.

@DannyWorth29 – Danny Worth, Tigers Infielder. Everyone’s favorite transient infielder/pinch runner has a terrific twitter account. He shares more down to earth stuff than the promos and photo ops featured in the accounts of the bigger profile guys. A must follow.

@Tom_Gage – Detroit News. Tom would be much higher on this list if he simply tweeted more. His work at the news is outstanding and he has a knack for providing fun, offbeat tidbits. (Like measuring where spring training home runs stop rolling)

@SmylyD – Drew Smyly, Tigers Starting Pitcher. Drew’s defining twitter moment was the posting of a photo of his nasty blister. While his account is much more than this, it does tell you about how Drew doesn’t take himself so seriously and is willing to share with fans.

@freeptigers – Detroit Free Press. If you enjoy newspaper coverage with more than a dash of sass, FreepTigers is for you. For a “newspaper” account it pushes the limits of professionalism. Much of the content would be better suited to an editorial Tigers account.

@jonmorosi – Jon Paul Morosi, Foxsports.com. Jon is the first of the national writers on our list because of his roots in Detroit. He is often the first to break news about the club and has genuine interest in the team and the fans.

@fakeleyland – Jim Leyland Parody. And at long last we arrive at the first parody account on the list and deservingly so. A wonderful blend of apologetic, retort, and cussing.

@JustinVerlander – Tigers Starting Pitcher. The problem with athlete twitter accounts is generally the bigger you get the less you can say. Justin’s account is not much different and with good reason. Justin does do a better job than some and provides fun photos of him eating Taco Bell or golfing or golfing or golfing.

@Tigers – Detroit Tigers. You are probably wondering why this account isn’t ranked higher. First, much of the news is provided by other outlets before the Tigers tweet it. It is often filled, justifiably so, with marketing and promotional opportunities. For the casual fan this is more fun than for the fan who really wants the nuts and bolts about the club. But, they are the best at letting us know which Tiger is having a birthday!

@DKnobler – CBSsports.com. A national writer who made his name right here in Detroit. Good information, solid in-depth reporting, and will actually talk about Detroit now and then.

@walkoffwoodward – Josh “Doc” Worn, Walkoffwoodward.com. Josh is heavy on editorial in his twitter feed while the website features more of the nuts and bolts of what is happening with the club.

@Dan_Dickerson – Tigers Radio Network Play-by-play broadcaster. It is hard to live in the shadow of Ernie Harwell, but Dan Dickerson is, in his own right, becoming a legendary broadcaster. He is well prepared. He mixes in enough basic sabermetric insights to paint an accurate picture of player performance without being mechanical. On Twitter his biggest contribution is his post game summeries. If you are on the go and miss a game, his pithy accounts are quickest and best way to get caught up on the action.

@Big_Al_TWFE – Al Beaton, BlessYouBoys.com. Don’t let the Wayne Fontes in his twitter handle mislead you, Al has taken a bigger role in writing at BlessYouBoys and does the most entertaining game recaps on the web. Also check out the BYB podcast he produces.

@AvisailGarcia34 – Tigers Outfielder. I think Avi made the biggest name for himself on twitter when he let the world know that a game had been postponed several minutes before anyone else knew. He became the voice of the clubhouse on Twitter toward then end of last season.

@Tigerdog_1 – Patrick O’Kennedy, BlessYouBoys.com. Patrick is an android sent from the future to provide a constant stream of Tigers facts and opinions. If you disdain monkey business, Mr. O’Kennedy is your man.

@FSDwakiji – Dana Wakiji, FoxSportsDetroit.com. Dana appears this low on the list only for her divided attention with other area sports, most notably the Red Wings. (the Red Wings were a team in Detroit that used to play a sport called “hockey”) She is a must follow for nothing else than her postgame quotes from Phil Coke’s Mouth.

@RoarTigers – Samara Pearlstein, Roar of the Tigers. You know her best for her fun cartoons of all the Tigers, as you should, but Samara provides fun commentary on all things Tigers in her twitter account too. The best stuff is when she expresses her anxiety about what is happening in the game.

@jamesschmehl – James Schemehel, Mlive.com. James has a much bigger footprint on Mlive itself than he does on Twitter where he sticks to business and links to his Mlive content. Clear and well written.

@jwagnerblade – John Wagner, Toledo Blade. I would follow Wagner if for nothing more than “hug watch” content. “Hug watch” is when there is a potential need for a minor league call up and observers scan the dugout to see which player is receiving hugs, thus indicating they are likely being called up. Of course the postgame comments from the call up are a joy to read as well.

@BYBKurt – Kurt Mensching, Blessyouboys.com and the Detroit News. While it appears Kurt’s content is mostly handled through the @blessyouboys account, you can also find a lot of good stuff here. Especially if you love dogs.

@pleyland1013 – Patrick Leyland, Tigers Minor League Catcher. It is entertaining enough that Patrick’s feed gives us glimpses into the world of a guy working hard to make it in the minor leagues, but the fact that he happens to be the son of the Tigers manager adds to fun. His gems include photos of his Dad’s yearbooks and reports on how many cigarettes have been smoked in any given period.

@norunsupport – Allison Hagen, Blessyouboys.com. Her surly temperament only adds to her charm. She provides Tigers comments during games and unauthorized winter meeting updates during the offseason. Be sure to follow her boyfriend Craig Calcaterra, an outstanding baseball blogger with NBC, if you can stomach all the romance.

@TonyPaul1984 – Tony Paul, Detroit News. I know I shouldn’t punish a guy simply for not agreeing with his takes, but Tony can swerve into the Bill Simonson realm at times and can come off as a bit mean spirited. His reporting is solid and I’m willing to give his opinions a fresh viewing again.

@johnmoz – John Mozena. John is one of the few people on this list with out an official connection to a club or media outlet. But he is certainly worth a follow. Jokes, witty comments, and goofy questions are his specialty.

@MiguelCabrera – Tigers Third Baseman. This account made a smart move to change it’s handle from something that was really hard to remember and spell to something more simple. Unfortunately, that is about the time the account seems to have been handed to some sort of professional firm. I don’t think this feed exactly has Miguel’s “voice”.

@Shannon_Hogan – Fox Sports Detroit, Roaming Reporter. Shannon is a Venti espresso in a big belt. Sure, she’s a little over the top for some, but she makes me smile so get over it. You know it is a special night when she brings Rod and Mario food in the booth.

@DDowns99 – Darin Downs, Tigers Relief Pitcher. Darin’s account has none of the corporate problems that Miguel’s does. He provides fans with insight into his life and family.

@garretkc – Garret Craig, MotorCityBengals.com. Garret is young but is starting to make a name for himself by providing timely, unique, and interesting statistics during Tigers games.

@VivaTigres – Jennifer Cosey, old-english-d.blogspot.com. How do I say this without sounding like a sexist jerk? Jen provides a more emotionally charged take on what is going on with the Tigers. Didn’t work, did it? Oh well, I enjoy what Ms. Cosey has to say, so there.

@jcrasnick – Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com. Well, well, what do we have here?! An ESPN guy who will break away from the important teams to pay attention to the Tigers now and then. Amazing! Teasing aside, Jerry is a terrific writer and doesn’t sound as old as his name suggests.

@tiger337 – Lee Panas, DetroitTigerTales.com. Lee wrote the book on using advanced statistical metrics. Literally. His book, Beyond Batting Average, is an primer on sabermetrics. His blog features in depth breakdowns of matters pertaining to the Tigers.

@BNightengale – Bob Nightengale, USAtoday.com. I don’t know how he does it, but Bob always manages to find some inside story on the Tigers. His latest work had him breaking the story about Sanchez going to the Cubs (mistakenly) and also breaking the story about Sanchez going to the Tigers (correctly)

@tokarzontigers – David Tokarz, Nerd. I started following David’s work when he was writing prospect reports at BlessYouBoys. As he’s gotten more busy with his fancy book lernin’ he basically just yells and swears at the Tigers via Twitter.

@TigersProspects – Brian Sakowski and team, BlessYouBoys.com. They are still getting their feet under them at BlessYouBoys, but I have high hopes for these guys providing excellent prospect coverage.

@bobwojnowski – Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News. As a talk-show host and columnist, Bob has the freedom to let his wit and humor shine through. Even though it is “off topic”, seeing the other members of the media abuse Bob for his eating habits is priceless.

@SKORNACKI – Steve Kornacki, FoxSportsDetroit.com. I feel his stuff gets lost in the shuffle, but when I do encounter his thoughts I enjoy them immensely.

@catswithbats – Alexandra Simon, WalkoffWoodward.com. No one has more to say about the Tigers, or anything else really, than Alex. If you can handle tweets and opinions scattered to and fro, she is a good follow.